Six years ago the Solar Oven team partnered with Grupo Fenix, an organization from the Universidad Nacional de Ingeneria in Nicaragua that works in rural areas to increase awareness of sustainable lifestyles and research renewable energy, and Las Mujeres Solares de Totogalpa, a collective of women using solar technologies to offset te use of woody fuels in their homes. In a region suffering from deforestation, Solar Ovens eliminate the need for women to spend hours of their day gathering resources and reduce the health risks from fires. dealing specifically with a small community in Sabana Grande, the Solar Oven Team works to increase Solar Oven usage by creating a sustainable solution that is culturally acceptable and desirable.

Amenecer's current goals

Test several alternative insulation materials for use in the solar cookers for utility and durability:

wood shavings from planing wood - used presently

rice hulls

coffee bean husks

fiberglass

Develop a better mechanism for supporting the lid/reflector:

the present wooden support rod is awkward to use and difficult to align

The box cookers used by Las Mujeres .. and Grupo Fenix are too heavy and cumbersome for effective shipping

A lightweight cooker that can be prefabricated from locally available materials in Sabana Grande, or other rural communities, and easily assembled at a distant site would make distribution of solar cookers much easier than present

Research the possibility of using Fresnel or other lenses to help focus more light into a cooker, instead of or in addition to reflectors to allow more heat in the cooker.

Design and prototype small cookers for use in the Ithaca, NY area, roughly 42 degrees North Latitude, with sloped fronts (glazing) to better capture light during the winter months. Two cookers will be made for demonstrating use and function in the area.

News and recent developments

March 2011: The student team visited Sabana Grande during spring break to build a new large cooker with a new metal stand for use in the soon to be completed Solar Restaurant being built by Las Mujeres Solares de Totogalpa at their Centro Solar. We plan to Sabana Grande in March 2012 to continue our work with our friends there.